Hugo, Descendants Win Big With National Board of Review

If you thought perhaps the National Board of Review's 2011 award winners might bring even the slightest bit of clarity to this season's Oscar log jam, guess again: The New York-based organization honored Hugo and Martin Scorsese as its Best Picture and Director of the year, with George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Christopher Plummer, Shailene Woodley and -- sort of -- Michael Fassbender making strong showings as well. Read on for the complete list of winners.

Best Film: Hugo

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress: Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser, 50/50

Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants

Best Animated Feature: Rango

Breakthrough Performance: Felicity Jones, Like Crazy

Breakthrough Performance: Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Debut Director: J.C. Chandor, Margin Call

Best Ensemble: The Help

Spotlight Award: Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class)

NBR Freedom of Expression: Crime After Crime

NBR Freedom of Expression: Pariah

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation

Best Documentary: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Special Achievement in Filmmaking: The Harry Potter Franchise - A Distinguished Translation from Book to Film

Top Films

(in alphabetical order)

The Artist

The Descendants

Drive

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The Ides of March

J. Edgar

The Tree of Life

War Horse

Top 5 Foreign Language Films

(In Alphabetical Order)

13 Assassins

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within

Footnote

Le Havre

Point Blank

Top 5 Documentaries

(In Alphabetical Order)

Born to be Wild

Buck

George Harrison: Living in the Material World

Project Nim

Senna

Top 10 Independent Films

(In Alphabetical Order)

50/50

Another Earth

Beginners

A Better Life

Cedar Rapids

Margin Call

Shame

Take Shelter

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Win Win



Comments

  • AS says:

    So nice to see all of the best films of the year included in their "Top Films": Drive, TGWTDT & The Ides of March.

  • Sami says:

    I'm happy that the Oscars won't be so predictable this year. Last year's was a total bore (because the awards were all correctly predicted by almost every major media outlet)...

  • Kay says:

    Hey. I thought The Lincoln Lawyer was one of the best films of the year. Both Matthew M and Ryan Phillipe were outstanding. The storyline was great!!!